St. Paul daily globe., 1887-03-19
A FLOOD AT BISMARCK.
The Capital Of Dakota Territory Now
Suffering From a Decided Sur
plus Of Water.
The Overflow Already Within 600 Feet
of the Sheridan House and Still
Growing.
Mandan Also Gets a Dose, But 1t
May Not Prove Very
Serious.
fudge Spencer Calls on His Friends
at Redfield- d--Other Dakota
News.
Special to the Globe

Special to the Globe.
BISMARCK, March 1S.-The gorges above
here which held back the floods coming
out of the Little Missouri river, broke last
evening. and the floods reached here at a.
Ill. to-day. The ice, still solid. was moved
III large cakes and quickly formed a gorge
across both channels at the head of Sibley
island. Efforts were made to break the
gorge by exploding dynamite cartridges, but
without avail, and the water rose rapidly
until it oyertiowed the bottoms, and lacked
only twenty-five inches of the highest stage
OF 1881. At this writing no further rise is
expected during the night. The gorge at
Sibley island is firm, and the principal cur.
rent is flowing over the bottom lands south
OF Bismarck and emptying by the channel
OF Apple creek near the foot of the gorge.
The lower part of Mandan. nearly up to the
depot, is
COVERED WITH WATER
backed up to the Heart river from the
Missouri, but no serious damage is feared.
The railroad track between the bridge and
Mandan is covered with water and ice for
twenty rods. The treste-work approaches
to the bridge are damaged by ice, and no
trains will cross until the water falls, so
that the damage can be repaired. A rise
or thirty feet of water began coming out
OF the Yellowstone this morning and that
will reach here sometime Sunday, probably
before the present flood here has gone by,
in which event the water may come I'D
higher than 1881. Considerable hay, do
mestic animals and othel property of
settlers on the bottom lands has been
lost, and it isSreported that two men
named Beale and Feller, with two women
aud one child, are in a flooded stack in the
timber three miles south of town. Boats
were worked through the floating ice across
the Hooded bottom this afternoon to go to
their rescue, but found the timber so
blocked by ice gorgeS that no further
progress could be made. At s p. m.
LIGHTS WE'RE SEEN
III that direction, and 1t was thought Beale
and Feller of the missing party were trying
to signal the town. Communication with
the west side is entirely suspended. teIe-
graph and telephone poles being cut off by
the first rush of ice. At the Bismarck land
ing the old warehouse near the bridge was
crushed in and has mostly gone down the
river. The new transfer house, 40 feet
Nlue ana 6UU 1eet long, was lifted up and
carried by the water across the track and
INTO the bluff, 4 distance of fifty feet OF
more. 1t is somewhat broken by the flood.
but can be repaired easier than it can be
put back on its pile foundation. The boats
at Rock Haven and on The Bismarck ways
are safe and not damaged. One of the in
cidentS OF the day was the sight of
TWO DEER.
who came down the river on cakes of ice.
Above the bridge they stood still and rode
safely, but just below, perhaps alarmed by
the shouts of the people on the bridge and
shore, they began leaping from cake to
cake, trying to reach the shore. and finally
went into the river. under the ice and were
seen no more. The size and force of the
ice cakes riding the flood, which runs eight
miles all hour, may be judged from the fact
that one cake, which was lifted high and
dry over the bridge dyke, is about two hun
drei feet square and over two feet thick
Since noon the run of ice hes been light, and
it is thought new gorgeS have formed above
which may send down larger flood by
morning. At9 p. m. the river is again ris-
ing, and steamboats, drawing five feet might
now come to within 500 feet of Sheridan
house, the main current being along the
bottom land close to the railroad right of
way.